The celebratory mood that descended was almost tangible as the group realized that the fight was finally over. I was so exhausted I fell straight to my back, not even caring that I was lying in the strange, slimy liquid of the floor. I was already practically covered in it anyway, after the five hours I’d spent in the room. Not to mention, I was an absolute mess in every other way, anyway. My already tattered clothes were barely recognizable now, with much of it having been liquified under the acid of the Origin and centipede.
I’d have been embarrassed had not most of the group been in near similar condition. Even the ones with armor hadn't been spared. Najam’s leather armor was falling apart, and Lionel was a mess, though his armor still held up. Regardless, no one was in any place to criticize me.
Fortunately for the group, Najam’d had the foresight to bring everyone extra clothing, so we wouldn’t have to suffer our indecency for long. And since we’d all unanimously decided to take a nice long break before moving on to the next stage, we had plenty of time to change. Tara and I were even able to work together to make hot water to bathe in, since Najam had also packed buckets, like the utter preparation freak that he was.
An hour or so later, our group stood fresh and ready in the hallway before the third stage, wearing brand-new clothes and having washed off the slime that had been slathered all over us. Najam had no replacement for his armor, though, so he wore what little of his original stuff remained after the fight.
Broad smiles adorned the faces of everyone in the group as we prepared to walk into the third stage. According to Najam, just figuring out what kind of monster we would face would be enough for this run to be considered a success, but I still hadn’t given up on my hope to clear the dungeon in its entirety, despite having witnessed how difficult the dungeon was. The practical side of me understood that the formations Najam had devised had played a major role in our ability to get so far – but a deeper, more stubborn part of me still held out hope.
The stone hallway eventually ended, leading us out into a very different landscape than the last. Instead of a dim, stone cavern, we stepped out into a lush meadow. A thick carpet of grass lay sprawled over the undulating hills, verdant and rich in color. The room was square in shape and, as with the rest, absolutely massive in scale. It was boxed off with massive sandy stone walls that rose far, far up high before they ended at the ceiling. The faces of the walls were seamless, as if they were made of a single block of stone.
The ceiling itself glowed a gentle golden white that mimicked the sun with surprising accuracy. The light wasn’t harsh, but still bright enough to liven up the massive room.
Our group studied the place with curious eyes, taking in the strange scene with wonder. Still, no one stepped out of formation, despite the innocuous appearance of the room. We were still in a dungeon, after all, and dungeons were not innocent places. Even I knew that.
Our group, which had adopted the same formation we entered the dungeon with, made it about halfway into the room before we finally met the enemy. It was a pride of lions, or at least, lions in general shape. In everything else, however, they were starkly different.
There were about thirteen of the animals, and they all wore ashen gray coats of fur. The manes of the males were of the same color, though the ends of the hairs glowed the orange of dying embers.
The group had just reached the top of a hill when we saw the pride. The animals lounged in the valley just at our feet, and our appearance seemed as much a shock to them as theirs was to us.
“Well,” Lionel muttered quietly, as if not to startle the animals, “at least we know what we’re up against, now.”
Grins spread among the group as we readied for battle. Although, technically, we’d accomplished what we’d set out to do, there was no point in turning back without a fight. We may as well witness firsthand the lions’ strength, even though Najam’s books would undoubtedly contain all the information we’d need on them.
With no set strategy, we simply stuck to our original plan, retaining our fish-shaped formation. Following Lionel in a controlled charge, we made our way to the lions, who seemed to only then realize we were hostile.
The lions transitioned from their prone, lazy states into battle-ready within seconds, the biggest of them coming forward to meet us while the rest stayed a little back. As they met our charge with their own, I noticed for the first time that their eyes glowed a deep orange, like the burning heart of an ember.
The lions painted a fearsome picture as five of them ran at us, their majestic silvery bodies moving in unison as they crossed the space between us, fangs bared and bloodlust echoing in their eyes. I grinned as I met their stares, letting flames burst into life around me.
I met the leftmost lion with a jab straight into its open jaws. The steel tip met the top of its mouth while the swirling flames rushed down its throat and engulfed its entire head, mane included. My other hand crashed into the thing’s chest as a flaming fist, sinking into the surprisingly thick pelt of gray.
The lion, to my surprise, responded by clasping its jaws down on my flaming pole, holding it still in place as it glared down at me, staring at me through my own flames. Meeting the beast’s eyes felt like staring into the eyes of a king, but I was not to be cowed. I steeled my eyes and stared it down, taking the blow it lashed out with with as much grace as I could manage.
The massive paw struck my middle like a sledgehammer, sending me flying like a ragdoll thrown. I landed some thirty feet off to the side, rolling over the lush grass for another meter or so before I finally came to a stop.
I Revived the moment I stopped moving, a fire alight in my eyes. The lion had issued me a personal challenge when our eyes met – I was sure of it in a way I’d never be able to explain, and I wasn’t about to back down.
And indeed, the massive lion had broken away from the larger battle, its lone gray figure cutting a striking picture as it padded through the lush emerald of the meadow. Its eyes were fixed on mine, the glowing flame in them matched by mine.
By now, the main fight had begun in earnest, and every lion had joined in the fray, and yet none followed behind the one coming for me; as if even they understood that this was a fight to be respected.
The lion had abandoned my pole where we’d met, which meant I would be fighting with my bare hands. It would definitely be a disadvantage, I knew, but a small part of me was excited for it. Something about the challenge made me want to take it down with nothing but my fists.
The lion reached me soon enough, and the both of us began to slowly circle each other – an apex predator and a flaming girl sizing each other up. The beast was massive – my head only came up to its shoulders – but I was used to fighting against larger opponents, so I was hardly daunted by the prospect.
As we circled each other, I flooded myself with Flux; my body absolutely brimmed with strength, the liquid power almost begging to be let out and set the world ablaze. But I kept a tight rein on it, rallying myself for the fight to come. What little did seep out came as sparks off of my body, painting bright orange arcs as they fell to the ground, burning against the grass as they landed.
The lion moved first. It burst forward with a sudden, explosive leap, its paws outstretched and maw open wide. It had given absolutely no warning before attacking, or at least, no warning that I had the experience to pick up on, but I was still ready for it when it came. The power within me burst out as an explosion of flame, the brilliant orange erupting out of my skin as the lion closed in on me.
The flames met the lion as a wave of fierce heat, knocking it off balance just long enough for me to roll under the leaping animal. I shot to my feet just as I cleared it, and the lion landed where I’d just been, dazed but largely unhurt still.
The lion whipped around to face me again, a glare of annoyance ready to be thrown my way, but I was upon it the second that it turned. My fist crashed into its jaw, knocking its massive head to the side. I followed up with another rapid two jabs to its face before backing up quickly.
But not quite quick enough, I found. The lion’s paw found me just before I stepped out of its reach, its long claws ripping through my clothes and tearing into my skin.
I bit back a scream of pain and blasted the animal’s face with twin streams of flame from my hands, staggering backwards as I did. The Revive came quick, thankfully – even my body seemed to know that even a second’s delay would cost me my life – but it was as painful as ever.
By the time the lion came for me again, I was perfectly refreshed and ready for it. Flame swirled around my body as I ducked and weaved through its claws and jaws, peppering its thick pelt with punch after punch. I settled back into the groove of my fighting style on Earth, that mix of boxing and brawling I’d designed and tempered through countless street fights. It had served me well then, as I hoped it would do now.
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Granted, I’d never fought an honest-to-god lion on the streets, but I’d also never been able to shoot flames out of my fists, either.
Not that the flames seemed to be doing much for me then, though. I could see what Gyda had meant about fire mages being at a disadvantage in brawls. My flames were painful as all hell for the lion, undoubtedly, but without something sharp or hard enough to pierce its pelt, it would take a long while for me to wear the animal down and kill it. And as much as I had faith in my abilities, I wasn’t stupid enough to think I’d be able to outlast the lion in a fight like that.
Still, I refused to believe that there wasn’t a way for me to use my flames the way I wanted to, and I was sure I’d come up with it soon enough. And I was determined to stick with my style until I did.
But the idea, whatever it was, eluded me. The fight dragged on, devolving into what was essentially a slug match between me and the lion. The lion had every possible advantage, of course, aside from one thing. It had far more muscle, far better defense, claws that tore through my skin, and jaws powerful enough to tear my limbs off. What I had, the only thing I had, was my capacity for pain, and the Revives to make use of that capacity. And maybe my insanity, too – though I wasn’t quite sure if that counted as an advantage.
Within half an hour, my brand-new clothes were reduced to dirty, blood-soaked tatters. The lush grass was charred and blackened in a five-meter circle around us as the lion and I stood facing each other once again, both of us breathing hard. But despite the objectively horrible situation I’d found myself in, the wild grin on my face told of the lighting that coursed through my veins. I felt more alive than ever before, the world clearer, in better focus.
The lion pounced forward again, and I took its claws to my forearm before retaliating with a clubbing fist, simultaneously pulling a Revive as I did. I doubled down on the attack, stepping closer as I swung again and again, the flames alive and dancing on my arms.
My assault was brought to an end as the lion caught my fist between its teeth, its powerful jaws threatening to clear through the bone. With defiant eyes, I stepped closer still, refusing to back off. Instead, with a herculean push, I inserted my other hand into the thing’s mouth and began to pry its jaws open.
Blood ran freely down my arms as its teeth dug into my palms, but I hardly noticed as I strained every muscle in my body, slowly but surely prying its mouth open wide. My arms shook under the force of the lion’s jaw trying to clamp down again, and pearly teeth poked through the skin on the back of my hand, having dug through my entire palm.
But I kept a tight grip on the animal’s jaws, and eventually, its jaws were wide open, its warm breath leaking out and caressing my face. I grinned as I saw the pink flesh of the lion’s mouth. With a clear shot in, I rallied the Flux I’d been holding onto and blew it out in one condensed breath, igniting it as it passed my lips.
The stream of scorching hot flames burst out of my mouth and burned their way down the lion’s throat, all the way down into the thing’s stomach. When I had emptied out all the Flux I’d gathered, I pushed the lion off, tearing my palms off of its teeth as I did.
The lion staggered back, its mouth hanging open and smoking, the insides charred black. Yet still, the thing refused to fall. Its legs buckled under its own weight, but it met my eyes with adamant refusal, reflecting the resolve in my gaze in its own.
I stared the thing down from where I stood, not having moved a muscle from where I’d pushed it back. Both of my palms were mangled messes of flesh that bled profusely, and a streak of scarlet ran down my forehead and over my right eye, but the steel in my dark eyes was unwavering.
The lion closed its jaws then, though gray smoke still leaked out from the corners of its lips, and it turned to me with what I could have sworn was a grin. Then, with a sudden blur of movement, the cat pounced on me, its massive weight bearing down on me with more speed than should have been possible for something of its size.
Still, my body reacted just in time, Reviving as I moved entirely on instinct. I watched myself as I rolled under the beast, my newly restored – and now glowing red – fingers raking themselves against the gray underbelly of the lion. I didn’t quite understand why I did that – it wasn’t like my fingernails were sharp enough to cut through the lion’s thick pelt. But as I shot up to my feet on the other side of the lion, understanding quickly came to me.
I looked down at my own fingers to find them wrapped in an almost solid, peculiar flame. The flame had taken the form of a cone-shaped claw, encasing each of my fingers. But that wasn’t the peculiar part of it. No, the peculiar thing was the color of the flame. They glowed a deep, bloody scarlet, so rich in color it reminded me of my own hair. I’d never seen fire of such a color before, and certainly never created such, and the sight was more captivating than I would have imagined.
So captivating was the color, in fact, that I only remembered where I was when the lion’s claws were mere inches away from the back of my neck. I ducked as fast as I possibly could, but the lion’s paws followed, raking over my back as they did.
Without even bothering to Revive, I whirled around and slashed at the beast’s neck. The lion was quick enough to pull back, though, so my sharpened fingers only caught a few hairs of its mane. The animal wasn’t expecting me to push further, though, so a step forward brought me close enough to sink my claws into the thing’s chest.
The lion responded with a paw to my gut, sending me flying back. I Revived before I even hit the ground, sparing myself the agony of having to land on a back torn open – though, with how painful the Revive was, I questioned if the trade had even been worth it – and then Revived again as I hit the ground, breaking more than a few bones with my landing.
I was up to my feet in seconds, just in time to greet the lion as it charged at me. A grin stretched on my face as I crouched slightly, my body primed and ready for the fight. The claws had been an innovation of my subconscious, as best as I could tell, but no matter where I’d gotten the idea, they were perfect. Like a gift from some unknown source, and I accepted them graciously.
The lion and I went blow for blow another hour or so, and I steadily gained the upper hand as the fight went on. I began to shed the civility of my fighting style, emulating and slowly beginning to match the wildness of the lion. A feral grin spread over my face as I fought, and before long, the lion was left a bloody, mangled mess of red and gray. Blood dripped down from endless gashes running along the length of its pelt, staining the charred grass below.
I stood opposite the majestic animal, standing tall as the wind swept my scarlet hair and tattered clothes. The lion should have, by all rights, lost its royal bearing, bloodied as it was. But that was not the case. No, the lion seemed just as dignified a beast as ever, the utter confidence in its eyes unwavering as it met my gaze. The blood that stained its pelt only served to give it the look of a great warrior, as valiant as the heroes of legend.
Suddenly, I felt a strange current caress my skin as I gazed into the deep ember eyes of the lion, as if I was passing through a cloud. In my peripheral vision, I noticed that my surroundings were beginning to slowly change, the sprawling emerald meadow and the fierce battle that waged atop it fading away into a blank dark canvas. But something prevented me from taking my eyes off the lion’s, as if an invisible force had taken control of my mind
Then, all of a sudden, that force dissipated, and I was freed from the strange hold it had on me. As clarity returned to my mind, I found myself in an alien world, far from where I should have been. I stood in a field of bronzed grass, so tall that the tops brushed against my hips. The field stretched out in every direction, endless as an ocean of swaying golden. The land was utterly flat; not a mound rose higher than the rest, nor a ditch lower.
Beyond the earth was a dark wrapping of sky, dusted with the silvery white of distant stars.
I stood alone, utterly confused and more than awed by the strange sight, for almost a minute before a being finally materialized before me. Wisps of smoke condensed into the form of an aged man, his grayed beard and kindly, wrinkled face telling of a great many years lived.
A golden crown sat lopsidedly atop the man’s head, and he was draped in fancy, fur-lined robes that gave him an air of royalty. A single glance was enough to tell me the man before me was a king; a true king, through and through. Beyond the appearance, there was something about his aura that marked him as one. He was a man who would command authority, no matter where he went.
I met his eyes with as much confidence as I could muster, given the strange circumstance I’d found myself in. I had absolutely no idea what was going on, but I refused to show a hint of weakness.
The old king studied me in silence for a moment, an indecipherable light in his eyes and a broad smile on his face, before he finally spoke. “It was an honor, fallen Ember, to witness the rebirth of your scarlet flame.” His voice had a gravitas that matched his appearance, but his actual words made absolutely no sense to me.
“Huh?” I responded dumbly, when I realized the man was waiting for a response.
The king smiled kindly and shook his head. “I wouldn’t expect you to understand, at the moment, anyway. I apologize for intruding upon your little…dungeon excursion. I simply couldn’t contain my excitement when I felt your signature resurface in the universe. Even now, I can hardly believe my eyes..." The man trailed off again, before shaking himself and speaking again. "To make up for my intrusion, I’ll handle the rest of the dungeon for you. Someone like you should hardly be…” the man seemed to reconsider whatever it was he was about to say then, shaking his head once more.
“The dungeon rewards should be waiting for you when you return,” the man continued. “I hope they should cover any inconveniences I may have caused. Beyond that, I have but a simple request, after which I will leave you to your life once more. Will you hear my request?”
I looked at the man blankly, before nodding my head.
“When you are well and ready – and you will know when that is for yourself – I hope that you will stop by my palace once again, on my home planet. There are matters that must be discussed – once, of course, you are prepared to.” The man fixed me with an intense look. “Can you promise me that, fallen Ember?”
“Uhh…sure?" I answered. It occurred to me that agreeing when I had absolutely no idea what exactly my promise would entail wasn't a great idea, but something about the way the man asked made me want to agree. "I guess.”
The man’s face lit up at my response. “Splendid. Absolutely splendid. I await our next meeting with bated breath, fallen Ember. I expect a great many things from you.”
With those weighty words of parting, the man bent into a slight bow and drifted away. Not long after, the strange world went with him, bringing me back to the meadow of the third stage.